The Hawaiian Gazette

Streets and Sidewalks.
No doubt there has been a good deal of cursing of streets during the late weather, (it may be, too, of the road supervisor, (possibly of the weather itself, though we hope it has not gone so far as that.)
Our streets, however—and it may be said in good faith—are not so bad as some would think. In fact, there are few places, which have not yet attained the dignity of pavements, where the streets and roads leading in and out of town are better than they are in Honolulu. A cobblestone pavement would certainly not be an improvement. Let any one who has traveled, recall the places of no greater size than this which he has visited, and the places where the aggregate of wealth is no greater, and he will find that, taking the whole year round, this town will bear favorably a comparison in this respect. The locality is favored also. The earth frequently hardens in good weather nearly to the firmness of an asphaltum pavement and dries quickly after wet weather. The abundant supplies of black sand and of old coral stone are favorable to the formation of good roadways, abating, perhaps, the detriment to weak eyes from the impalpable dust of the latter in long continued dry weather. Add to this the fact that the ground is never demoralized by the breaking up of frost, nor roughened by the savage freezing of ruts and ridges, and any one will see that we are not badly off in the way of roads.
What does impress a stranger unfavorably, however, is the lack of good sidewalks. Saving the Valley road and occasional fragments of walks cared for by enterprising and public-spirited persons, there is scarcely a decent sidewalk in town. Not only pedestrians, but those who have occasion to ride much, experience the inconvenience of this, as "Paddy's sidewalk," viz. the middle of the street, is shared by both parties without distinct understanding as to the rights of either.
One of the underlying causes of this, and it is with reference to it that we call attention to the subject at this time, is the tendency of land-owners to crowd their especial possessions into the street. Either there is an old title, not a foot of which will be parted with, except on the most exhorbitant terms and the utmost unwillingness, or else the street wall is shoved little by little into the public domain. We have no intention to call up any particular instances, but merely to mention the general fact. Land-owners often forget that the street is nearly as much an element of the value of real estate as the land actually enclosed. A foot or two less on a lot makes much less difference to the lot than it does to the highway. At the same time, a small lot on a wide and attractive street is really more valuable than a large one on a narrow and uncomfortable road. The change then, or the giving up of a few feet of land even when legally entitled to it, is not necessarily a loss; it is a positive gain—we trust that we have placed this subject in a just and true light: and that people will come to realize that the oft-complained-of lack of sidewalks is in most cases a compelled lack from sheer want of room, and that filching from the street is no more than filching from themselves.
Another troublesome matter is, the necessity of accommodating the walks to the Honolulu style of—we hardly know what to call them—street verandahs, or sheds. Every one knows what an uncomfortable dripping takes place at the limits of these, outside of which it is impossible for a walk to extend. Suggesting comfort and shade on a sunny day, shelter on a rainy day, they are still on a cramped scale that cramps everything else with them. We hope some time to escape from this "cat run" style of street construction,—this reminiscence of the Indian trail style of traveling. But a generous public must co-operate, or the matter will continue in statu quo.